Tyringham and Post Farm

There were eight participants on our trip in the beautiful Tyringham valley.  Weather was pleasant - no rain as there has been the past 15 weekends, and comfortable temperatures - unlike the heat wave that was to come in a few days.  We had the “usual” species as we birded roadsides and woods, the Cobble, and part of the AT.  Highlights included a Thrasher and Bank Swallow at the end of Meadow Street, Ravens “crying”, and a Waxwing nest visited by a female Scarlet Tanager.  We had no luck with Bittern, Snipe or Cliff Swallow on Breakneck Road.  Then, a surprise on Monterey Road.  Near the bridge over Hop Brook, in a stand of larches where we have had Purple Finch in the past, we did spot a finch-like bird at the top of one of them.  We kept our eyes on it, thinking it wasn’t quite a finch.  Siobhan snapped one of her famous shots and the proof was there - a Red Crossbill!  We were thrilled, but wanted more looks.  We scanned the larch trees and saw a total of four individuals.  Unfortunately, as we walked back to our cars, we saw a fifth bird - a young crossbill dead on the side of the road.  

Soon we made our way to Post Farm, hoping for a Least Bittern that had been reported earlier this season.  The biting deerflies made us hustle through the woods to the marsh, but we did not hear the bittern.  We had Marsh Wren and a Kingbird there though.  

Chris had seen an eBird report of nesting Purple Martins in the town of Stockbridge near Tanglewood, and we decided to add a stop there.  The coordinates were misleading, but we enlisted the help of a Berkshire birder who knew how to get to the field where the nest box (and a newly added gourd array) were located.  This was in Gould Meadows, conservation land in Stock-bridge.  After a short walk through field and woods we saw the site, and very quickly we also saw a couple of Martins!  According to Hoffmann Bird Club members this is the first evidence of nesting Martins since the late 1800’s!  In the end we counted 4 or 5 individuals, both males and females.  Later it was learned that one of them was one that had been tagged in northern Connecticut in 2023.  This was a wonderful ending to a very successful Tyringham trip, adding two new species to this trip’s overall tally. Click on photo below to view complete species list.